Masala Meatza Pizza

Our challenge this month as #PataksMom was to go see the film The Hundred Foot Journey, which brings to life the words of the International Bestselling novel of the same name by Richard C. Morais. Once we saw the film, we were to share how the movie inspired us, in the kitchen or otherwise. First off, I want to share how much Hubs and I both enjoyed this film. I don’t want to discuss the plot of the film too much because I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you enjoy stories of overcoming adversity, love, and wonderful fresh food, you will love it. Suitable for all ages, it tells the story of the Kadam family and their journey to France from India and how they happen to open a restaurant directly across from Madame Mallory’s Michelin-starred eatery.

I came out of the theatre with two quotes that stuck in my head, “Food is memories” and “Maybe 200 years is long enough”, which was Hassan’s reply when Mme Mallory asks him why anyone would change a recipe that was over 200 years old. Both of these are true, yet push against each other. The reason why we keep so many recipes the same is because of the memories the taste brings back, but what keeps our culture and diet evolving is the combination of different tastes and new traditions. Long story short, food should bring back a memory or create a new one.

My desire to bring back great memories is what motivated me to create a pizza this month. My inspiration to switch things up and add in the flavours of India was already in my cupboard. Introducing: Masala Meatza Pizza.

Inspired by a recipe on the Patak’s website, my Masala Meatza Pizza was a 100% winner. The flavour combo was incredible and it took really no more time than any other pizza. Here’s how I made it:

I mixed together a batch of my pizza dough (recipe and step by step photos at that link), and during the last 20 minutes or so of the rise, put together the topping.

The topping consisted of a pound of lean ground (grass-fed) beef, about a cup of sliced mushrooms and a handful of grape tomatoes that I had halved. Once the meat was browned and the mushrooms and tomatoes just slightly softened, I added a package of the Patak’s Tikka Masala Cooking Sauce for 2 (or about a cup of sauce if you are using the larger jar). Once the sauce was fragrant, I removed the topping mixture from the heat.

I spread the dough evenly on a large 16″ pizza pan, which was sprayed with oil and dusted with cornmeal. Directly on top of the dough I added 2 large handfuls of good quality pizza (stretchy) mozzarella.

On top of the cheese, I spread the masala filling mixture and sprinkled about half a cup of additional shredded mozzarella on top. I baked the pizza in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes, the first 10 on the bottom rack and the last 10 on the middle rack. This resulted in the pizza having a nice crispy crust which stood up to the weight of the topping and it wasn’t messy in the least. Lately I’ve found that I like to cook my pizzas on bake, not convection because when I use convection the top gets overdone before I get the bottom as brown as I would like. When the pizza was done I added a bit of greens to the top because that makes me feel like I’m eating a salad – HA!

Disclosure: I am part of the Patak’s Canada Ambassador program with Mom Central Canada and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.